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But in fact, the evidence that Biden has said any such thing is incomplete — based on an account from one activist who has offered at least two versions of what the vice president told her on a rope line last week during a campaign event in South Carolina. Biden's office, meanwhile, has declined to say definitively whether the quote was accurate.

Still, the veep plays a prominent role in a flashy new banner ad posted on POLITICO's website Thursday morning by the anti-Keystone group All Risk, No Reward. It features Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry face-to-face alongside the text: “Psst, you should oppose Keystone XL too.”

On the ad's next screen, the text says: “Tell President Obama and Secretary Kerry: Joe Biden is right.”

“Vice President Biden is known for speaking his mind and speaking the truth,” the group writes on its website. “He did that just last week when he told a supporter in South Carolina that he shared her views in opposition to Keystone XL.”

Biden's office declined to discuss the ad, saying he believes the pipeline is going through the State Department's permitting process and a decision will be made on an “environmentally sound basis.”

Biden has “made his views known on this issue and his views haven’t changed,” a spokesperson said. “Any impression to the contrary would be mistaken.”

What’s not clear is Biden’s actual opinion on the pipeline — and his office wouldn’t elaborate, leaving some mystery as to whether Biden is a firm yes or no on Keystone.

The debate about what the vice president may or may not have said begins with Sierra Club member Elaine Cooper, who said she spoke to Biden during Friday's campaign event.

In a first-person blog item on the Sierra Club South Carolina website, Cooper said she sought out Biden at Rep. Jim Clyburn’s annual fish fry.

“I asked him about the administration’s commitment to making progress on climate and whether the president would reject the pipeline,” she wrote. “He looked at the Sierra Club hat on my head and he said, 'Yes, I do — I share your views — but I am in the minority,' and he smiled.”

But when Cooper spoke to POLITICO on Wednesday, Biden's words had evolved somewhat.

“So, I said, ‘Sir, could you please support rejecting' — I asked very politely because I have the utmost respect for him — ‘Could you please support rejecting the Keystone pipeline?’” Cooper told POLITICO in a phone interview. ”And he smiled and he said, ‘Yes, I support rejecting the Keystone pipeline, but I am in the minority.’ And smiled and went on shaking hands. That’s it.”

Asked about her differing accounts of Biden’s words, Cooper said she had worked with the national Sierra Club press office to draft the blog item since she was busy working on Elizabeth Colbert Busch’s congressional campaign.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I’ve been working down here for (Colbert Busch), and I’m not sure, you know, what it was that I did write and I was rushing around, as you can imagine. 'Cause this is a mighty big, tight congressional race and one of the biggies.”

The story picked up speed Tuesday when BuzzFeed wrote about a version of Cooper’s account that had been relayed on an environmental Listserv.

Environmental groups began touting the message Tuesday night with a statement from the League of Conservation Voters heralding the comments.

“As the vice president might say, this is a big deal,” said Gene Karpinski, president of the League of Conservation Voters. “The vice president’s comments are a game changer that should encourage Secretary Kerry and President [Barack] Obama to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.”

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 12:00 p.m. on May 9, 2013.